Words in anger’s midst

Editorial

In the midst of natural catastrophes, in the form of earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, and unfolding human catastrophes in the form of Libya’s cruel dictator, a smaller but deeply affecting catastrophe took place in the West Bank Jewish community of Itamar last weekend.

Udi Fogel, 36, his wife Ruth, 35, and three of their children – Yoav, 11, Elad, four, and Hadas, three months – were murdered in a gruesome attack in their home on Shabbat. Fatah’s military wing, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, claimed responsibility.

In a world filled with pain, this act of exceptional brutality stands out for its cold-bloodedness. Yet, with so much pain in the world, it is conceivable that we could become paralyzed by anger and hopelessness.

From this great distance, those of us who did not know the Fogel family may be tempted to view their loss in political terms. This is understandable, in the circumstance, yet an overtly political response will do nothing to bring them back or to aid the longer-range cause of peace and human dignity. The pain we feel on hearing news like this will likewise not be ameliorated by anger or despondency.

Chabad of Downtown and other Jewish groups around the world have responded in perhaps the most reasonable way, calling for a moment of peaceful thought and action, something that can be done in each of our homes to at least bring peace in a small way to our own homes and to direct some positive energy into the world.

“A Jewish response to tragedy is to add light to this dark world,” said a statement by Chabad of Downtown. “Women around the world are uniting to light candles for this coming Shabbat, March 18, in merit of the holy souls of members of the Fogel family murdered mercilessly. Time for Vancouver, B.C., 7:03 p.m.”

While anger is an understandable reaction, it is not a constructive one. The language that has been used in discussing the perpetrators has been unsettling. Speaking in anger, any of us can utter words we would withhold in calmer moments. The desire expressed to see retribution in the most brutal forms and the language of dehumanization used to refer to the perpetrators is understandable emotionally, but unsustainable morally. We cannot, on the one hand, claim moral superiority over the perpetrators and, on the other, wish upon them the same fate.

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